It started on a train
by Painted Raspberry
Summary: Lily and James meet on a train 2 years after Hogwarts. A classic tale of love, chance meetings, part time jobs, and public transport.
1. A train, Some rain, A little vain

It Started On a Train 

**Painted Raspberry**

**Chapter One**

A/N: Just to be clear, there are two of us writing this story. We wrote it through emails, I hope it flows nicely. POV shifts from 1st person to 3rd to give better insight. And because we like being different...

Lily  
It was a typical Monday in London… it was raining. There had been a sunny spell that didn't last and then the clouds came in. I didn't expect I'd need an umbrella today and then I experience all three seasons in a matter of minutes.

My hair is probably pouffy now. That's fine, that's just how I wanted my mother to see me. Disheveled, unprepared…and unattached. That was bound to be a topic to come up at lunch today. _She_ might've been married at my age but it certainly doesn't look like _I_ will be.

That's just not something I have time to think about right now...I'm going to be so damn late. The train…where is that blasted train?

Ah…there it is, late as usual. I'm now wet _and_ cold.

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Her train was now well on it's way now and it was two stations away from her destination when a man walked into her mostly empty compartment shaking off the rain. He grumbled loudly then sat down and tried to flatten his hair.  
Mumbling something about 'Stupid Black', the man finally sighed, relaxed back into his seat, and looked around.

There really weren't that many people in the compartment, so there wasn't much to keep him entertained. He liked to people-watch for fun. There was an elderly woman reading what looked like an erotic romance novel with her hand on her crotch. (a/n: haha sorry for being graphic. But I've seen this on the Sky Train here in Vancouver) There was a teenager brooding in the corner, probably playing hooky from school. And directly opposite him there was a woman about his age, nervously biting the inside of her cheeks. She seemed familiar, had he seen her before on this train?

At that moment she looked up at him with her startled green eyes and asked, "Potter? James Potter?"

Of course, he heard none of this. The train had just reached another station and people filed in filling the compartment and blocking her view of him. She was certain it was him but…what if in the middle of all that chaos he had left the overcrowded compartment?

But wait a minute. This was James Potter here. Sure they weren't enemies, but they didn't exactly know each other too well either. Besides, that boy had been a lot more popular than she ever had. And Lily wouldn't be surprised if he was already married happily and living in a giant mansion somewhere in the country. With a big backyard too.

Sighing, Lily sat back, crossed her arms and sulked. The train stopped again, this was her station. She got up and pushed through the crowd to get to the door but by then the doors had already closed and the train started to move.

"Shit..."

She was sure that wasn't her voice. Lily looked over, and noticed that, just as she had confirmed before, James Potter was standing next to her. He was running a hand through his messy hair, and looking down at his watch.

_'He must've missed the stop as well...'_

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Lily thought of all the possible ways she could start a conversation with him. Here was her golden opportunity to see everyone again. James was probably still in touch with Sirius, Remus and everyone else... If she played her cards right, maybe she could get a few good connections going for her. Somewhere high up in the Ministry would be nice.

_'Though I wouldn't want to be an auror. Maybe a desk job...'_

The train began to slow to a halt, and while Lily was still caught up in her thoughts, James Potter left the train.

And Lily went after him.

There was no question about it, London rain was absolutely miserable. As soon as Lily stepped off the train, she felt a cold chill run down her back, and as she walked out of the train station, the downpour started. Cursing her forgetfulness for not getting an umbrella she hurried after James. Peering through the sheets of rain, she finally spotted him on the other side of the street, wearing a black jacket to blend in with everyone else. But there was no mistaking that walk… or that hair.

She started after him at a fast trot. She felt too much like a stalker now. Ducking in and out of people's ways, weaving through the crowd, keeping him in her sight. She wasn't that desperate just to say a quick a hello was she?

He turned a corner and she sped up. She _was_ desperate. She turned the corner too and to her dismay he was nowhere to be seen. She went up on her tiptoes to catch a glimpse of him but couldn't see him anywhere.

Anxiously, she turned around and there he was grinning down at her.

"Following me were you?"

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A/N: GASP! Cliffhanger! If you want the next chapter you'd better start reviewing now! **REVIEW! XD**


	2. A Mum, Some Rum, An Old Chum

_**PaintedBlank** A/N: holy eff, that took forever to write. School's getting pretty busy and there've been lots of distractions...like my hot russian neighbour Dimitri hehehe...  
  
RaspberryPolarBear cannot leave a message right now as she's probably asleep. I'm only awake so I can check if it's a snow day tomorrow and I dont have to go to school. Anyway, you go read now and leave lots of big happy reviews!_  


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James  
  
There is someone behind, following. Ever since I left the train I could feel a presence. The back of my head is burning under someone's intense stare. If I can walk faster, get into a crowd and blend in, they'll never find me. 

What _do_ they want? And why this week of all weeks? I hate the new assignment. I can't believe the professor rendered all trainees unable to use magic just to teach us a lesson. One could get seriously hurt. Like me, for example!

I cross the street and push to the center of the crowd and keep moving forward. I turn my head sideways to catch a glimpse of who it is. It's a woman with red fuzz for hair and that's all I can tell with my vision impaired the way it is. At the next corner, I'll double back and round up on her from behind catching her off guard. Even Moody would be proud.

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"Following me, were you?"

The grin slowly faded from James' face, and Lily felt his hand clamp down on her arm. He began to pull her towards an alleyway.

"I'll have you know, that I don't take kindly to people following me." Lily was stuck in some kind of daze, and she found herself moving her lips like a goldfish, trying to get words out. However, when her back met up with a solid brick wall, things began to come back into focus.

Casting her green eyes upwards, she saw rain-covered glasses staring back at her, and they weren't looking terribly friendly at that. Surely James couldn't have forgotten her...

Too caught up with herself, Lily didn't realize that she was being spoken to, but she managed to catch the last few words, " . . . your name?"

Blinking, Lily licked her lips and answered, "Lily...Lily Evans."

The grip on her arm lessened, and Lily saw that James had taken a step backwards. There was a look of disbelief on his face as he squinted at her. Lily wrenched her arm free of his and moved away, searching for something to say to break the silence. But nothing came to mind. She was caught between a wall, and a very confused looking James Potter.

"Seven years and you don't even remember me?" spat the furious redhead.

"Oh believe me, I remember you Lily. You look...different that's all," he replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sighing, James pinched the bridge of his nose and looked to the sky, only to get his eyes pelted with rain so he looked down quickly again. He'd always imagined meeting someone from Hogwarts after so long would go smoother. Quickly checking the time he realized he was now late for his appointment. Now _he_ was mad.

"Are all women this irritable?"

"That's it I'm leaving. I don't know why I even bothered with you," yelled Lily, making her way to the entrance of the alley. She felt embarrassed. Not only did he make her miss her stop, yes it _was_ his fault she missed it, and have her look like a some kind of creepy stalker, now he insults her!

"No, come back here. Look, we got off on the wrong foot," James made an attempt to go after Lily, "See, the thing is. I'm legally blind right now. My glasses are fucked up, oh sorry you never liked swearing, and I needed a new prescription. So I was about to..."

Lily halted just as she was about to turn the corner.

"You're a full fledged wizard. Why didn't you just fix it with magic?"

"That's just the thing. My professor assigned some project that has everyone go without using magic for a week. Kind of like a survival assignment, so I haven't been able to use magic at all." Lily was a bit skeptical.

"You're a pureblood, why didn't you just get another wizard or witch to fix it for you?"

"No one knew how. Everyone I know has perfect vision, I'm the only blind bat in a group of hawks." Lily raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"You never were very good at comparisons."

"Let's not get over critical here. Look, Lily I'm in a rush. Are you doing anything tonight? It would be nice to catch up, you know for old times sake."

"I suppose I can make it tonight I don't think I have anything else to do and I haven't gone out in a while," said Lily fussing with her wet pouffy hair, "Would anyone else be coming?"

"Just Remus and Sirius. Meet us at the Winchester pub. Remus works there. Now, I really have to go, I'll see you tonight then?" said James as he began to walk out into the street.

"Wait a minute before you go," said Lily. She got on her tiptoes and gently taking the glasses off his face, she tapped them with her wand, and held them out in her palm. "Here you go, I fixed them and now they're polished too." And with that she walked off, making sure to sway her hips slightly.

James watched her go, still holding the glasses in his hands. Her perfect getaway was ruined when she tripped.

"Oh shit! My mom!" she cried stamping her foot in frustration.

"Your mom?" asked James confused.

"Yes, my mother!"

"Your mother?" he asked again.

"Is there an echo in here? Stop repeating me! I was supposed to meet her for lunch and now I'm so goddamned late, my hair is pouffy, I missed my fucking stop, and I don't have an umbrella for this bloody rain!" she yelled.

" . . .You swear now?" James couldn't understand why, but something about hearing girls swear just made his day. He didn't get a response though Lily had already high tailed out of the alleyway and was lost to the crowded street.

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Lily knocked on the door. She knocked and knocked...and finally tried the bell.

_DING DONG the witch is dead..._

_'Hmm,_' she thought, _"Petunia must've changed the old bell.'_

"Like the new bell? You're late. Get in here quick, you're letting the warmth out," said Petunia in her usual chopped tone ushering her in.

"WHERE HAVE YOU _BEEN_?" yelled their mother from the recesses of the kitchen just as Lily was trying to get detangled from her scarf.

"I've been slaving away in the kitchen for hours for our once a week luncheon and you show up an hour late?" asked her mother already on the beginnings of a guilt trip.

"Mum," said Lily simply, "It's just macaroni and cheese."

"Yeah… but I cut up some sausages and threw them in," said her mother shiftily.

"You always make it out to be worse than it is," said Lily already pulling out a chair and serving herself.

"That's not the issue here. _You_ were late!" said her mother stubbornly. She added extra effect by picking up her spoon and waving it in Lily's direction, succesfully sending noodles flying all over the room.

"Anyway," said Lily trying to deter her mother from a long winded rant, "The reason I was late was because I missed my train stop, and then I ran into an old classmate of mine from school..."

"Your _freak_ school, you mean?" interrupted Petunia. Lily ignored her and turned to her Mum.

"Oooh, is he cute?" chirped her mother, also ignoring Petunia.

"Mum, honestly! How can you just assume like that? It could've been a girl," argued Lily blushing and looking down at her plate.

"I'm just saying that if it was a girl you wouldn't have been late. You're not the type to miss your stop," said her mother

"I could've missed my stop any number of ways, it wasn't his fault," retorted Lily.

"It doesn't matter either way, you've just admitted it was a boy. Now, was it that James boy you always complained about?"

"Mum!"

"Lily, you're twenty now. We can talk about this without you getting so frazzled, can't we?"

"I could've missed my stop any number of ways, it wasn't his fault," retorted Lily.

"It doesn't matter either way, you've just admitted it was a he. Now, was it that James boy you always complained about?"

"Mum!"

"Lily, calm down."

"No, now stop prying. Where is Dad anyway?" asked Lily

"Oh, he just stepped out to get some milk. He should be back within the hour. Eat, eat! You look live you've been starving yourself," goaded her mother.

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**Meanwhile…**

James had just unlocked the door to his flat, and was taking off his jacket. He tossed his keys onto the side table before walking towards the kitchen where Sirius was sitting at the dining table circling jobs in the classifieds.

"Any messages for me?" asked James looking through the cupboards for something to eat. There were some biscuits on the top shelf that caught his eye but he couldn't reach it. Spotting a stool, he moved it over and climbed up to grab them.

"Your Mum owled to say that tomorrow's your Dad's Birthday and whether you're coming over, " said Sirius still not looking up, "Then Remus owled asking whether you wanted to go eat out tonight."

Too busy trying to wrap his fingers around the plastic package James hadn't really been paying attention. Circling something on the newspaper, Sirius flipped the page, but kept his head down.

"And then your Mum owled back asking if I wanted to eat her out tonight."

"What?" yelled James as he toppled off the stool. The offending package, that he had _just_ managed to get his hands on was pushed back even further on the shelf.

"Just checking to see if you were listening, mate," said Sirius still studiously circling. James wasn't going to give up on his biscuits though. He walked over to Sirius, whacked him over the head and went back to his stool only to find that Sirius had already levitated the package down to the counter for him.  
He made himself a cup of tea and sat down dunking his biscuits into his cup.

"So, you wouldn't believe whom I ran into today…" he started.

----------------------   
"Remus, another round over here," yelled James over the rowdy bar crowd. There was a football game on, so there were more people in the bar than usual.

"Where _is_ that girl? She's the one that was always punctual. She _really_ must've changed then," said Sirius in between sips of his rum.

"You know," said Remus pouring their drinks, "She probably couldn't find the place. After all, we just moved here a few days ago. Remember the old place? Couldn't hold more than 20 customers. Bad for business that was"

"You're right, I'll go outside and wait for her," said James taking his drink with him.

"You'd better not lose that glass, it'll be the 5th time this month and I keep getting in trouble for it," yelled Remus at his retreating back.

"You worry too much," called back James over his shoulder just as he was approaching the door. The door opened and hit him right in the chest, spilling his beer all over himself. The glass dropped to the floor...and bounced. Flabbergasted, James looked over at Remus with a surprised expression on his face, and Remus just grinned.

"Just put that charm on today. Pretty nifty."

Lily had just apparated to the location that James had given her, and she couldn't see anything that indicated there was a bar nearby. It looked like an old alleyway just off the main street. Stepping cautiously, she made her way up the street looking all around for that goddamned bar!

_"If I can't find it, I'm going home. Stupid James!"_

Feeling a little vulnerable to the night and it's predators she started looking for the bar a little more frantically turning her head every which way except the front. That's why she didn't catch a glimpse of what she ran into. It felt like a wall...a fleshy wall. She grasped the wall's sweater and pulled herself up.

"... Lily? You alright?" Opening her eyes, Lily looked up and realized that it was James...and she was still hanging onto his sweater. She smiled...he had nice abs

"Could you stop feeling me up now?" asked James.

"I am doing no such thing! I'm uh...checking for injuries, that's all," she quickly covered up.

"Well, if you're done, let's get ourselves inside. The rain's making your hair pouffy again," he said with a smile and led her inside.

She noticed that _his _hair was more messy than usual, and the sweater that he was wearing was wet in certain parts. Sighing, the red head followed him into the bar.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Now go write a big happy review! You know you waant to. Oh hey, and wondering...does the summary completely suck? Does it need some work? WE NEED TO KNOW! We aren't getting enough viewers 


	3. Something old, new, borrowed and blue

Author's Note: Wow, you lot must be so angry with us for not updating but we were busy alright? OK, we've changed the point of view entirely to Lily's side for this chapter, it'll move around to other characters in chapters to come. The other thing with third person wasn't working out for us. Oh and sorry but the begining doesn't fit exactly with the end of chapter 2, we needed to start here, forgive us! And don't expect any updates soon since mid-term exams are about to start. Anyway, c'est voila!

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Lily PoV (earlier) 

_Green? Oh, yeah so I can get another one of those 'It really brings out your eyes' comments. Soo cliché. Red? Clashes too much._

_Hmm…green and red? AHH, Christmas colors!_

_I need help…_

Throwing another heap of clothes on my bed, which looked suspiciously like the leaning tower of Pisa, I leaned my head out of my room and looked towards the kitchen.

"Jean, what do you think I should wear?" I yell at my flat mate. It looked like he was busy tossing a salad.

"You're treating this like a date..." he taunted from the kitchen. I saw little bits of lettuce go flying in the air, and then land perfectly in the mixing bowl.

"I am not! He's just an old friend well, classmate more like, from school." A date? Pah!  
Why _does _it matter so much what I wear anyway? I don't think he broke his head trying to find something to wear for tonight. Men have it too easy. Their clean clothes policy is 'If in doubt turn it inside out.'

Still though, a date? There's hardly anything special about that _boy_… man, I correct myself. James is a man now and boy, does he ever look like one! That _man_ has been all I've thought about all day. I can't get over how much he has grown. Even his hands...especially his hands. They look so much more... mmm. He can be kind of witty and I might be able to enjoy his sense of humor. He's smart, definitely, maybe even smarter than I am. There's no way I could like him.

Then why has that morning conversation with him been running through my head _all_ day?

I was only ever vaguely aware of him back in Hogwarts...quiet boy, picked his nose, had loud friends, fat, blonde. Oh wait, that was Pettigrew. Odd child.  
Right, James _was_ the loud friend. A cocky rascal that was naturally gifted at most things without ever trying. He had been a right bastard the first few years. Calmed down eventually though. He dated...lots. That man whore.

I sighed and wandered back to my disheveled closet. What was left that I hadn't already considered? I pushed the hangers from side to side, looking at the different skirts and dresses that I'd picked up over the years and… hmm what's this? I bend down and pull out a purple dress from the bottom of my cupboard.

"Don't even think about wearing the purple dress," yells my flat mate from the kitchen, "It clings too much around the hips and you still haven't lost any of that holiday weight."

Fecking arse, he could've said that a little nicer. I pouted, and realized that he was right. My hands wandered to my hips, and squeezed the love handles.

'_I hate Christmas fat… Daaamnn yoooouuu Chocolate! So good, but soooo bad._'

Sigh...back to rummaging through the cupboard for me. I glace at the clock, I am sooo late

"How about just wearing jeans?" Apparently, my flat mate had finished tossing his salad. He walked in with an eyebrow raised in thought. Walking over to my closet, where I was, he pulled me out of the way, and started rummaging. "Here, take this, this and this. Now put it on or you'll be late for you date."

'_God Bless gay French flat-mates…_'

I glare at him, "Jean-Bob..." I say warningly

"I mean your _'not-date'_. Redheads and their tempers," he muttered. He cast me a teasing smile and drifted out of my room.

"Love you too," I say sarcastically and quickly doff my clothes in favor for Jean-Bob's selected outfit, smack on some lipstick and began to run out of the apartment.

"Shoes, a purse maybe? You are _so_ desperate!" Jean called after me. Biting my lip so as not to retort with something I'd regret, I turned around, and ran back in through the door. Grabbing my purse and a pair of shoes, I rather unceremoniously hopped while trying to put the shoe on my foot, all the way to the elevator. I got in and apparated.

_'The things I go through for a guy...'_

(Present Time)

I followed James through the pub door and lost him instantly in a crowd. The place was PACKED! I looked up at a few of the televisions, and realized that there was a championship football game on. There would be no chance for a conversation in here especially not the type of conversation I had in mind.

"Shut the door! You're lettin' all the heat out!" yelled a young drunk over by the bar. I glared at him, but stepped all the way into the pub and allowed the door to swing shut behind me.

The sudden heat in the bar stunned me after that icy rain outside. The air is full of smoke, the crowd is rowdy and…that stupid bastard I can't find him in _this _crowd! It would be just like him to lure me into a bar of complete strangers and then leave me to their devices. Oh...I guess that would be him waving me over to the bar. Mmm, looking much better without that wet sweater on might I add. Arrrgh...remember, _not a date!_

"Oh, so is this your date for the evening?" the bartender asked James. I screamed silently in my head.  
"NO! No! Nooo... nothing like that Remus!" said James smoothly. OK, not so smoothly. Wait...Remus? I look over at the bartender again.

"Remus!" I exclaim overjoyed and give him an awkward hug over the bar, "It's good to see you again!"  
He looked much older than he used to with gray flecks in his hair, but his smile was still the same.  
He was the only one of them I could relate to back in Hogwarts - book smart and a bit of a perfectionist. Just my type, or I had thought so until he turned me down after I made myself too forward. That had been sooo awkward. I hope he doesn't remember.  
"Hah, this reminds me of that time you kept unbuttoning the buttons on your blouse whenever I walked into a room" he laughed mid-hug. I drew back quickly. Bollocks, he remembers. James looked at me curiously maybe even a little scared.

"I'm not like that anymore," I mutter blushing, I try to change the subject, "Anyway, a bartender eh? How did that happen? You strike me as the boring job kind of person." Remus sighed with a smile, and I sat down on a stool besides James.

"I didn't have any idea what I wanted to get into once I got out of Hogwarts." He picked up a dirty mug, and began wiping it with his towel, typically bartender like. "So I applied here to get me some extra cash. It pays well, and I'm saving up to put myself through a Wizarding law institute in Germany."

"Heh, right," James added sipping his drink, "You only signed up for this to pick up more girls."

Ignoring James, I asked, "Law school? Impressive, I hope that works out for you. Can I get one of those blue drinks?" I point vaguely at two girls drinking something blue. Just before Remus acknowledged me, I heard a shout on the other side of the bar, and everyone's attention turned that way. It looked like the beginnings of a bar fight. Probably over the football match. I hear James cursing beside me and looking at the fight.

"Bugger, I'll have to yank his big arse out of this one too." And with that he was walking right into the middle of the scrum to stop the fight. He came back no worse for wear but dragging along a sulking and grump looking man.

"Sirius!" I jumped up and gave the ruffian a big hug.

"James get the giant fucking hairball off of me!" he yelled. Ahh Sirius, he didn't have Tourettes, swearing was just his way of saying he liked you. James peeled me off Sirius and started yelling at him for starting yet another fight, apparently he did this often.

"Would you stop fuckin' betting on the other team?" he started.

"Give over, I actually _like_ the other fucking team this time!" Sirius replied.

"Bollocks! You just want to get a rise out of the home crowd," James continued.

"Well, I think bloody well think you should-" But he was cut off by a roar from the crowd. Apparently, the goalkeeper was very good. I still wanted my blue drink so I pouted, I don't think anyone noticed. Remus was assessing the damage of the almost-fight, while at the same time checking out the game, and James and Sirius were still yelling.

_'... But what does a girl have to do to get a blue drink?' _

I began picking at the peanuts on the bar countertop, and was too preoccupied with trying to get the shell off of one with only two fingers, that I didn't hear that James and Sirius had stopped fighting. The noise in the bar was deafening, and I didn't look up until I felt a shake on my shoulder.

"Lily..." said James softly, "Would you like to go out...I mean _get out_...of here, with me?"  
I stared up at him and his nice eyes, I was mesmerized and not understanding what he had just said for lack of listening. The crowd was getting frantic, the game was winding down and it was still nil-nil.

"Uhm, what?" I asked James. He repeated what he had said, a little louder this time. The crowd swelled.

"I'd like that." I swallowed, he was too close. James stood back smiling and held his hand out to me. At the same time the other side of the room exploded, but I could hear Sirius over top of everything, "HE SCOOOORES! Pay up, mates!" Well someone had definitely scored but he didn't play football, I looked up at James took, his hand and smiled back at him.

----------------------

We were chased out of the bar by an angry mob that was after Sirius. Remus said he'd meet us somewhere when his shift got over. James and Sirius were taking me to this 'somewhere' they mentioned.

It was very quiet outside. The three of us walked at a brisk pace to keep warm. Sirius had said that the 'somewhere' was within walking distance, but it still didn't help that it was freezing outside. It seemed like we were walking in alphabetical order though; James was in front of me by at least 10 paces, and Sirius was just behind me... or beside me... I don't know, he kept speeding up and slowing down. Looking over, I realized that Sirius' haircut was a lot shorter than I remembered, but it suited him. He was still the prettiest man I'd ever met. He caught me staring.

"So, how the hell you been?" he asked with his usual aplomb

"I've --" but he cut me off and blindsided me with another question.

"You still have that huge crush on James?" My shoe caught the edge of the sidewalk and I stumbled. I got right back up and smacked his arm as hard as I could.

"Wanker! I've never had a...a _crush_ on James," I whispered fiercely and looked over to see if James had heard any of this. He was several paces ahead humming and hadn't seemed to have heard anything. Sirius stopped walking and stared at me, so naturally, I stopped as well.

"Well if you haven't, then why the bleedin' hell are you staring at his arse?" Sirius asked.

"AM NOT!" I yell panicked. Too loud, James stopped and turned around. I sigh inwardly, now I can't see his firm little bottom.

"He bothering you, Lily? I can take him out for you if you want," James asked. Is that concern on James' face? Aww...

"The hell you can!" yelled Sirius, shoving his hands in his pant pockets to keep warm.

"It's fine. Everything is fine. Just catching up with my good old buddy Sirius here," I laugh nervously, punching Sirius for effect, a little harder than necessary. However, we continued walking. Somewhere along the way, Sirius and James had switched spots without me knowing, so now I was walking with James. I begged him to let me borrow his jacket before I froze my tush off, he assented like the gentleman he was. Mmm, smells like argh...why does it smell like chocolate? I put my hands tentatively into the pockets and pulled out wads of empty chocolate wrappers. This explains the brown stains... at least we have one thing in common, unhealthy chocolate obsession. I glanced over at James and caught him looking at me.

"Your good buddy Sirius eh?" he laughed, "Didn't you have the biggest crush on him back in Hogwarts?" I stopped dead. Bugger them all!

"Will you two stop accusing me of liking the other? It wasn't you or you! It was Remus! He's the one I liked in Hogwarts. Oh don't look so disbelieving, you two were not much to look at back then anyway," I hadn't realized I was yelling, I glared at the two of them. They stared at me, looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Yeah, we know. Remus told us about that one time in the library when you tried to..." James."I'm not like that anymore!" I protested weakly. He _told_ them?! Arrrgh, they gossip more than women! I swear they would probably start swapping first-kiss stories next. Trying to smoothly change the subject I asked, "How much further to this damn 'somewhere' of yours anyway?"

"Oh, we've been here for a while, the bouncer is right there," said James pointing to the door we were standing in front of. What? When did that black guy get there?

"Racist," Sirius muttered as he walked by me. Shit, things to do: stop thinking things aloud.  
We were at some club called "Somewhere".

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A/N: Tu aimes? (Hah sorry, I've been studying for French) Again, sorry this took so long...we had a chapter all written up a month ago but we went back to read it and it sucked so much, you should thank us you didn't have to read that garbage. We're much happier with this version, tell us if there were any discrepancies with the plot line. And don't worry you'll learn to love Jean-Bob. Does anyone want Peter added in? We can work him in. REVIEW! 

-PaintedBlank and Raspberry PolarBear


	4. Potter's a Potter?

**Chapter Four**

The light filtering through the drapes could not have been more annoying if it tried. Lily opened her eyes groggily and turned on her side but just doing that made her head feel funny. It was sort of like a rush to her head but it didn't let her think straight. Pushing back the covers slowly she tried to stand up and realized she couldn't stand up straight.

Walking across her room to the drapes she actually stumbled, twice! Steadying herself against the wall she tried to collect her thoughts and make it back across the room in a straight line. Good lord, was she still drunk from last night?

"_It was all those damn little blue drinks!" _she thought vehemently...well as vehemently as she could while still trying to recover. Back under the covers now, she thought back to last night. She remembered getting...stumbling home, but not getting into bed. She remembered lots of flashy lights at...Somewhere! Yes, the name of the club. Fuckin weird name for a club...

A car horn in the distance made all thoughts about where she was last night disappear, and Lily cradled her head in pain. Cursing the very existence of the modern automobile, she made a move to curl up to sleep again, only to have her clock-radio turn on.

"Oh god!" she shrieked slamming her hand down on her alarm. Going back under the covers she was hit with realization...she was due at work in half an hour! She was a trainee nurse at St Mungos. Going to work with the worst hangover of her life was going to be soooo shitty. She almost cried when she remembered that it wasn't even a 6-hour shift, it was 8! In times like these...look for someone to blame.

_James Potter, that rat bastard that got me drunk! That rat bastard that I am pretty sure I danced all night with...Shit_

A look of confusion swept across Lily's face, and she brought a hand up to her brow.

_Oh, god. What have I done?_

She really couldn't remember for the life of her. Her memory of last night was hazy but she did remember some of it.

_Everything had started out normal enough when they had entered. Sirius had led us to a booth in the back to meet a whole whack of his friends. Me, being the social retard that I am just sat by James and slowly sipped the drinks Sirius got me, not saying much to Sirius' club friends or anyone for that matter. I guess that's when the drinks kicked in and from then on all I remember is …a steamy club, pulsing music, hitting back shots, flashy lights, thinking James Potter was the hottest thing in a sweater and then ASKING _him_ to dance with me…_

She remembered also making a lot of new friends while under the influence and…dancing on tables!

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god..." Ripping the blankets off of her bed, Lily did her best to ignore the blood pounding in her head. She darted for the closet, threw on her work clothes, and ran to the kitchen. Looking around frantically, Lily pushed papers and pens aside, but could not find her wand.

"Where the bloody hell are you when I need you?!"

Jean Bob, who Lily hadn't noticed yet, was sitting in the living room flipping through channels on the television. He glanced briefly over his shoulder, cocked an eyebrow, and sighed. Having the flat to himself last night, Jean Bob had taken the liberty of cleaning up, and reorganizing things. Apparently putting Lily's wand on the front door table was a bad idea, and he should have just left it in the cluttered mess of her room.

"You cleaned up!" she yelled accusingly when she finally took notice of Jean-Bob.

"Oui," he replied, turning back to the television, "your wand is by the front door."

"Damn clean roommate..." Lily grumbled, rushing back to her room, or rather stumbled to get her cloak. She was about to go out the door when Jean Bob yelled at her.

"So, would you like to explain to me why there were two _very_ hunky men dragging your drunk ass in at 3 AM this morning?" Spinning on the spot, Lily turned to Jean Bob, and gave the most evil glare she possibly could while still reeling from her hangover.

"We'll talk about that later. But don't expect to be seeing those bloody _wankers_ around here anymore."

"Oh, but they seemed nice enough. Stuck around to chat for a bit, told me all about what happened, they did." He jumped on the coffee table and started dancing. "Look familiar?"

"Augh! Those insufferable little… they _told _you??" Lily burst.

"Yes darling and you know, from what they told me, if this nursing gig of yours doesn't work out for you, you should look into a career as an exotic dancer, they swear you made so much money last night you ended up paying for everyone's drinks." Gripping her wand tightly, Lily muttered something under her breath trying to coax her headache away.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that... I'll see you later." Just as she was about to close the front door, he tapped her on the shoulder. Looking around, Jean Bob was behind her holding what looked exactly like --

"The one with the glasses and messy hair left this behind with you. He said you were shivering on the way home, so he let you wear it. The bloke said he expects it back some time this week." Wide eyed, Lily hesitantly reached for the green jacket. She sniffed; it still smelled like chocolate and a musky aroma she had come to know as the essence of James Potter.

"You're smelling it! You _like_ him. Well I don't blame you, he was nice to look at," cooed Jean-Bob. Lily smacked him with the jacket and left it on the table by the door. Catching a glimpse of the jacket again before she closed the door she sighed wistfully.

* * *

Walking onto the train platform, Lily began to try and recall what exactly had happened after she had left the club that morning, but the screeching of train brakes alerted her attention. Her red hair was whipped around her face as the train settled into the station. Pushing a few stray bangs out of her eyes, she got on to the crowded train and reached for a bar to hold on to right in front of an occupied seat. She wasn't really paying attention and the person in the seat left and was replaced by someone else. Someone with very familiar looking hair. She closed her eyes and groaned inwardly, 'there is no God', she concluded.

The train began moving again, and Lily tried her best to turn in the opposite direction of James. She heard a shriek by one of the train doors, and looked over to see that a woman's purse was stuck between the doors.

Before she could balance herself, the train came to an abrupt halt, and Lily felt herself falling backwards right into…

"Can't seem to keep your hands off me eh, Lily?" whispered a very happy James Potter into her ear as she felt strong arms snake around her waist. She turned her face towards his and immediately regretted it since it put her even closer to him.

"W-what are you talking about?! Of course I can!" Lily's body language did nothing to prove her statement though. As she had turned around, her hands found themselves atop of a muscled chest, and her face was only a few centimeters away from his. Her breathing got heavier as she looked right into his hazel eyes.

The train lurched forward again, and the shock sent Lily forward. Hoping not to get into an even worse position with him Lily ended up with her lips on his left ear. Oh god, even that smelled sinful. She righted herself in his lap, pulled out of his arms and stood up, straightening her skirt.

"Y-you...should not be doing that to random women on the train. It-it's called assault!" she told him trying to wag her finger at him. He just grabbed her hand, attempting to pull her back into his lap and said cheekily, "It's not assault if she wants it too is it?"

She snatched her hand away. "This is um...my stop. I'll uhh…owl you your jacket later this week, when I have... time," she said flustered and got off the train. Outside on the platform she placed her hand over her face and let out a yell of frustration.

"I hope that was for me Lily, it was quite endearing," said James from behind her. Startled, Lily jumped two feet into the air and yelped.

"_What_ are _you_ doing here?" she almost screamed. He just shrugged, "This is my stop too." Rolling her eyes Lily muttered under her breath.

"Yeah right... probably just gives you an excuse to stalk me."

* * *

The two walked silently out of the station, and onto the main road, and no matter how many turns Lily made, it seemed as if James was following her. As it was, St Mungo's was only a few blocks away, and she still hadn't managed to shake James off of her tail. If only there was some way she could just--

"Well, this is my stop. I expect I'll see you on the train tomorrow." Stopping, Lily turned to see James standing in front of a small, quaint looking storefront. She carefully looked through the glass, and completely ignored James until her eyes caught sight of the sign on the front door. Try as she might, Lily felt her control slipping, and broke down into a fit of laughter.

"Oh this is gold. James _Potter_... works at a _Potter_y shop?!"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" he asked, giving her a weird look.

"No, no its just ironic," she managed between giggles, "And so _very_ manly of you."

"Hey it's not easy, you should try it sometime, I teach classes too you know. Maybe we can work out a private lesson eh?" he waggled his eyebrows at her. Lily scoffed.

"Don't push your luck Potter. I've got to get to work."

"Well obviously it wouldn't be right now. What time do you get off work? I'll pick you up from St Mungo's and then I'll show you that pot making is no _wingardium leviosa_," he said in a matter of fact tone.

"How did you know I work at St Mungo's?" she asked wided eyed.

"Well considering you're wearing a nursing uniform..." he started, looking at her attire pointedly. A car horn spooked Lily, and she jumped. A dusty looking car pulled up beside her and rolled down the window.

"Oy! Lily! We're both late! C'mon, I'll give you a lift, talk to your boyfriend later, eh?"

"_Him?!?_," spluttered Lily, "No, no no! Cass you've got it all wrong. He's just an…old friend of mine…from school. Yeah from school...ran into him the other day and I've come to realize," she said turning her head towards him and glaring, "He hasn't changed one bit." And with that she got into her friend's car and they drove off leaving James alone.

* * *

Lily was distracted all day. She would always start a job, and then leave it half done because she got sidetracked. She was lucky that Cass didn't have a full schedule. The poor girl was running after Lily the entire day, cleaning up whatever mess the red head had created.

"Alright, that's enough! What the hell is the deal with you today?" asked Cass in frustration finally during their coffee break. They were sitting at a secluded table in the corner of the cafeteria catching up on each other's lives.

"It's just so many things right now...meeting James again just put my whole life into a blender... and this hangover doesn't help much either...and then there was the funny business on the train… Cass I really shouldn't be in charge of other people's health right now when I can barely keep my own sanity," Lily blathered.

"Hah, now you see what I'm always complaining about when I come to work with a hangover. Wait so where'd you go last night anyway?"

"Somewhere..." Lily said, but when she saw the expectant look on Cass's face, she realized how stupid that had just sounded. "I mean, the club 'Somewhere'. It was the first time I'd heard of it, so I was just as surprised as you."

Another nurse bustled into the room looking around as if searching for someone, when she caught a glimpse of the two of them in the corner she made a beeline towards their table.

"You have a patient who is refusing treatment from anyone else unless it's you and he's causing quite a ruckus," she said briskly, looking directly at Lily, "I was told to fetch you before this got out of hand." Even though her curiosity was piqued about this strange patient Lily still wanted to finish talking with Cass.

"But I'm still on break…" Lily started but shut up as soon as she saw the look in the eye of the more experienced nurse, "An excellent idea, I'll come with you." Lily got up, shot an apologetic look at Cass for leaving her alone and followed the other nurse, making dirty faces at her back. She followed the nurse down many winding corridors and around many random obstacles in said corridors only to find herself in an unfamiliar ward of the hospital. "Everyday cuts and bruises" read the sign outside the ward. She cocked an eyebrow thinking of who this patient could be. Her insane mother perhaps? No, no she doesn't even know where this place is! Looking around at the weird patients that occupied the ward she really didn't know what to expect of this mystery patient. She was still wondering about it when the nurse she was following stopped walking and Lily walked right into her back and stumbled backwards.

"Oomfh!" she yelled, "A little warning next time please?" she asked.

"A little paying attention next time please?" retorted the nurse, "Well this is him," she said with finality in her voice and bustled off.

Trying her best to keep her temper, Lily shut her eyes and waited for the obese nurse to waddle off somewhere else. Taking a deep breath, the red head opened her eyes, only to shut them just as fast.

'_THERE IS NO GOD.' _

Daring to open her eyes again, Lily saw none other than a thrilled looking James Potter sitting just across from her.

"Funny," she said through gritted teeth, "I'd never have thought that pottery was a dangerous art to take up." That earned a bark of laughter.

"I was cutting a chunk of the clay, and the wire slipped and nicked my finger. Hasn't stopped bleeding since then, I'm afraid." Lily sighed, remembered why she was a nurse, and moved to pull over a rolling tray of bandage supplies. Looking around for a stool, she found one, and sat down just in front of James.

"Alright Mr. Potter, hold out your right hand please." He did as asked, and Lily took his large hand gently into her own.

"Mr. Potter eh? That sounds kind of kinky," he said teasingly.

"Mcgonagall called you Mr. Potter too you know," she said as she looked over the wound, and saw that he had a deep cut on his pointer finger. Looking as if she were inspecting it more closely, Lily pulled his hand up towards her face.

"Ugh," he said sticking his tongue out in disgust, obviously just having had a bad mental picture, "You're right, but the way you say it adds a nice ring to it."

" Right, anyway, does this hurt?" By this time, James was having a hard time trying to focus. Lily was looking him straight in the eye, and… massaging his hand? Something wasn't right here.

"Yes, a little." He replied softly. "You could kiss it better?" James knew it was a long shot, but he certainly wasn't expecting what happened next.

Lily gave a shy smile, and gently placed a kiss on his finger. Had he not been so amazed, James would've felt her tongue grazing along the cut as well.

"I have to tell you something, James," said Lily as she pulled back slowly. "James… James… Mr. Potter… POTTER!" James pulled out of his dream state, and saw a fiery looking Lily Evans sitting in front of him. He shook his head, and looked down to his hand, only to see that it had been bandaged up. He'd imagined the entire thing. Must be the blood loss.

"You know," she started, "you should really be more careful next time. I don't want to keep hearing about a rowdy patient who refuses to be treated by anyone else but me every other day." Lily stood up, and moved the tray back to its original spot but he caught her hand.

"Thanks," he smiled at her, "You know…the bandage and stuff."

"Hmm, n-no problem. So I hear you caused quite a "ruckus" as nurse fat-ass over there put it, what'd you do?"

"Said I'd slash my wrists if you weren't the one attending over me," he replied nonchalantly.

"You did _what_???" she exclaimed.

"Joking, only joking," he said raising his hands in defence. Lily groaned, and began to walk out of the ward. "Wait Lily," he said softly and caught her hand before she left. Lily stopped to look over her shoulder.

"Listen, the real reason I'm here was to see if you would like to I don't know...do something tonight. After your shift, maybe we can fit that private lesson in eh?" (a/n: we are too Canadian for our own good…that's like the sixth time we've used "eh") he smiled seductively at her. Or maybe she just thought all his smiles were seductive. Her heart was racing, and her hand was feeling nicely enveloped in his bigger and warmer one. She could still feel the sensation of those hands on her back from when the danced the previous night. She found that looking in his eyes made her breathless and she didn't like it... or did she?

* * *

A/N: **WE ARE SO SORRY FOR LIKE... THE FIVE MONTH WAIT ON THIS CHAPTER! **As it was, Raspberry Polar Bear was suffering from some serious writers block, and the both of us had so many exams in school that we just couldn't find the time. 

But if you want the next chapter, then you **HAVE TO GIVE US TONS OF REVIEWS**! Oh yes folks, that IS a **valid threat**. D


	5. That kiss? What a miss!

**A/N: yeeesh, sorry about the wait again but here it is!

* * *

**

"I...no, that just isn't such a good idea right now," Lily managed to choke out, "I really don't have...space...in my life for this," she gestured at the two of them and their close proximity.

"Every human being has space in their life for this," he gestured at the two of them again.

"No they don't! I could name tons of people who don't have space in their lives. I, for one am sooo busy right now...what with interning at St Mungo's and going to school and trying to keep a social life..." she trailed off. She didn't know why she was saying what she was saying, she knew very well she had no social life and she would like very much to spend more time with James.

"What social life exactly? I'm pretty sure last night was the first time you'd been out in months. You took a while to loosen up and- stop biting the inside of your cheeks every time you're nervous! You did it yesterday too." he snapped.  
"You have a problem with my personal habits?" she snapped back. They were doing enough snapping to make a turtle jealous.

"No, I just don't want the inside of your mouth to start bleeding," he replied calmly.

"Since when has the inside of my mouth ever been any concern of yours?" she demanded haughtily.

"Since now," he said with a gleam in his eye as he pulled her closer and kissed her softly. Lily's mind was frazzled, but she seemed to lose all thoughts of caring about anything when James kissed her. Now she knew why all of the girls at Hogwarts used to follow his every footstep. God, to kiss like this was a sin!

Someone clearing their throat behind them interrupted them. The fat nurse was standing, holding the curtain that separated one patient from the next.

"Ms Evans, I would like to remind you that this is indeed a hospital and not a kissing booth," said the nurse with all her usual bluster, "Now if you are done here I think you should get back to work." And with that she was gone. Lily pulled hurriedly out of his hands and coughed awkwardly at the silence. James just sat there grinning

"So, you free Saturday?" he asked.

"No! What? NO! This is not a good idea; I really don't have time for…for fooling around…" she finished softly, looking around to see if anyone was listening. Heart racing she looked up at James then and saw a flash of anger in his eyes.

"You think that's what this? That I'm fooling around?" he stood up and stepped away from her. Lily's heart sank; she hadn't _meant _to say no, it just…happened, instinct she supposed from having to constantly push men away because her excuse was she never had time. She didn't like to see him this way, accusing her, angry with her. Indulging him wouldn't be that bad, would it?

"I…meant to say I don't have time on Saturday," she smiled at him nervously, trying to cover and then continued, "But Sunday is wide open! You should really let me finish my sentences James, how rude."  
He laughed and Lily mentally reminded herself to make him laugh again just so that she could hear it. It was very masculine sounding and it thrilled her.

"Sunday is it? Well I've got a pretty busy schedule but I'll try to pencil you in," he smiled.  
"Don't make fun! I really am busy you know. Just because James bloody Potter has time to waste at pubs and harassing nurses at hospitals-" but she was cut off.

"Right, Sunday, see you at eight then? I'll meet you at your place," he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and was off. She stared dumbfounded at his retreating back.

"Well that was just…I can't believe the …and to think…well AUGH!! You know what I'm trying to say?" she asked the nearest patient who just nodded and went back to trying to pull out the golden harp that had been shoved down his throat. She stormed off looking for Cass and hoping she was still on break.

She found a very stressed out Cass, surrounded by three people she had never seen before, at the table in the cafeteria where Lily had left her. At the sight of Lily she shooed them away.  
"What was all that about?" Lily asked sitting down and noticing her tea still remained. She sipped it and spat it back into the cup. Eugh, cold tea.

"Oh _that,_ is just my mum being batty as ever. She's very uptight about all this wedding rubbish since I'm her only daughter and all. They," she said nodding over to the three people with clipboards that she had just shooed away, "Are the wedding planners that she has hired to "help" me plan my wedding. They really know how to kill a person's sense of fun. They won't even allow the bloody birdy-dance."

Cass had been engaged for almost a year now and her fiancé and her had finally set a date deciding that now was better than never. Especially in light of all the recent disappearances and murders. The wedding was in two weeks and in Cass's mind everything was already done. But her mother had other ideas, she wanted to plan every little detail and have it dance the cha-cha by the time she was done with it. Lily was, of course, the maid of honor.

"I just think that by worrying too much about the little details you kind of miss the big picture you know? I think people just immerse themselves by planning every little detail of a wedding because they don't want to have to deal with the fact that they're _actually_ committing themselves to a lifelong relationship," said Cass eyeing the wedding planners with distaste.

"Speaking of dealing with facts," Lily said giving her a pointed look, "Have you told him yet?"

Cass sighed, looking defeated. "I will…but I've decided to do it after the wedding."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. What if after you tell Ian you're a witch after you're married and he thinks you've "bewitched" him all along to get him to marry you? Things like that do happen! Muggles can be like that sometimes." Lily said, full of concern for her friend.

"I know Lily, don't you think I know? But the truth is I haven't used any magic on him and I don't know why I'm keeping this from him. I trust him to keep it secret but…I don't know! And on top of all this," she looked around quickly to make sure no one was listening, "I'm pregnant," she whispered. Lily gasped.

"AHH!! Cass that is so great! So...so that's why this is all so rushed? My god, who else knows?" Lily tried to restrain herself from jumping up and down.

"Shut up! No one knows but you and Ian and no one else is going to know if you just keep quiet about this for me?" Lily nodded and mimed zipping her lips closed.

"Good, now tell me why you came in here looking as if you'd just killed a kitten but were happy about it?" asked Cass cheekily.

"Is it even possible to show that on your face?" Lily asked, shocked. She explained to her friend all about what happened with James and how she had agreed to go on a date with him. Their break was over by the time she was done her story and they were walking out of the cafeteria when Lily turned to her friend and asked in a hushed tone, "So what are you going to name it?"  
"Well we agreed that if it's a girl I get to name it and I've chosen Isobel and he gets to choose if it's a boy and he's got his heart set on Seamus. Seamus Finnigan, I ask you! The poor child will be bullied to no end with a name like that."

"Good day at the potter's wheel today?" asked Remus quizzically over a newspaper as James walked into the apartment with a large smile on his face.

"Have a good spin with the Potter's wheel? Eh? Eh?" coaxed Sirius from his place under the couch where he was supposedly looking for sunglasses.

"You fail at sexual innuendos," said James as he kicked Sirius further under the couch, "It just so happens that I have a –,"

But the rest was cut off by a cry from Sirius. " Bloody fuckin' hell! There's a massive bloody spider down here and I'm stuck!" he wailed as he scrabbled to pull himself out from under the couch. Which he was finding increasingly difficult as both Remus and James had moved to sit on the couch so that he couldn't get out.

"You were saying Prongs?" asked Remus still trying to read the Prophet as the couch bucked under him.

"Merlin's pants! There's an effing spider's nest down here!!!" screamed Sirius who had managed to get his legs out from under the couch but was still stuck from the torso up.

"I have a date for Sunday-," started James.

"I found your bloody wolf treats under here Moony," yelled Sirius throwing the bag of treats across the room.

"Was looking for those, thanks. Ah, look an advertisement for a new wizard hair stylist. I'm getting really sick of this ponytail, I've had too many drunk guys hitting on me lately down at the bar thinking I was a woman," said Remus still pouring over the newspaper.

"_As_ I was saying, I've got a date. Sunday. With Lily," said James finally.

"Nice one," managed a muffled Sirius who had just begun sneezing from the dust.

"Maybe I should start growing a mustache too, my mother always did say I had delicate features. I just never knew she was calling me a girl," continued Remus pulling out a mirror and stroking his face, imagining facial hair.

"Moony, if I wanted to hear from an _ass_, I'd fart," said James.

"For the love of me and the spiders down here, please don't," pleaded Sirius.

"Lily actually said yes? To you? What did you use? A bear trap?" asked Remus incredulously.

"You didn't see the way she bloody behaved around him at the club last night Moony, I'm guessing he simply had to pull off a Number 32 from the 'Marauder's Guide to Dating' and boom she-bang he was in the game," said Sirius.

"Number 32? Euch, I wasn't _that_ desperate; a Number 24 worked well enough. 'Find out where she works and then give her a relevant workplace visit'," quoted James.

"You two sicken me sometimes," said Remus

"Aw, ya' barmpot," said James grabbing him in a headlock, "Only sometimes?"  
"Oh bugger off, I'm getting some tea," sighed Remus pulling himself out of the headlock, then he pretended to walk away and when he was far enough away he pantomimed something to James, which left them both laughing silently. James did what Remus told him to do and they both left the room.

"That is _not_ funny! I want my effing pants back, its cold in here!" yelled Sirius still stuck under the couch

Lily walked through the door to her shared flat, and dumped her keys on the side table beside James' chocolate ridden jacket. Looking at it gave her a whole boatload of conflicting emotions. She felt happy that she actually had a date with someone she sort of liked but angry that she felt like she'd been tricked into it and confused because she was feeling happy and angry at the same time!

She ripped her jacket off, stalked into the kitchen, and put a kettle of water on for tea. Jean Bob was at work at the hairdressers until 8 o'clock and then he was going to a "friend's" house so Lily had the flat to herself for a while. Time enough to dirty it up a bit so that she could actually find things in it again.

She loved having the flat to herself; she could loosen up when she knew no one was watching. On a whim she changed into whatever clothes she found at the back of her closet that were so weird she'd never wear them in public, heinous fashions of another decade, put on the muggle radio, put on a pair of electric blue high heels that she never got to wear and started cooking her dinner. Lily wasn't an artist, but she liked to feel like one sometimes.

Singing along to the radio, she felt relaxed. She kept running over the events of the day in her head even though she tried not to. Her mind kept wandering back to what had happened in that obscure ward in the hospital between her and James.

Come to think on it, what _had_ she agreed to by saying yes to him? He must have loads more experience in the dating field than her, what if she made a fool of herself in front of him? Or with him? On the date? She groaned and stopped cutting her vegetables into tiny bits

She hadn't been on a date since, well since Hogwarts. She didn't even remember any dating etiquette! Hogwarts was easy, everyone was inexperienced and new at it, and you had an excuse. But now? Nothing! Bollocks!  
She was freaking out. There was no way she could go on this date. She would have to owl him and tell him she had Spattergoits and was highly contagious. That would be perfect! She kept stirring the soup and staring at it intently as if hoping it would reveal some answers.

How dare James set her up in such a situation. After being kissed like that how was it even possible to think straight? Unless he had already known that and had just used it to his advantage. When she got her hands on that blighter next she would… well she'd probably have to…no, not that, too painful. Well, she'd figure something out.

Lily's hands curled into fists and she felt her nails digging into her palms and swore loudly. Her soup was burnt.

* * *

**a/n: yeah...whoooo. you would think with us being on summer vacation we'd actually write more but we've just gotten lazier. but hey, hope you liked it! PLEASE REVIEW!**


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